


The Light on the Sea

by Piscaria



Category: Long Live the Queen (Video Game)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Comfort Sex, Divination, F/F, Magical Girls, Misses Clause Challenge, Pre-Canon, Yuleporn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-07 19:06:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5467688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Piscaria/pseuds/Piscaria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The queen is dead and the future uncertain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Light on the Sea

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lilacsigil](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilacsigil/gifts).



> Happy Yuletide, Lilacsigil!

Afternoon sunlight still gleamed on the white marble rim of the fountain’s basin when an owl hooted overhead, drawing Selene’s eyes upwards. She’d been tending the moon garden surrounding the temple’s gazing fountain, clearing the weeds poking up through the rows of iridescent oyster shells bordering the flower beds. But at the owl’s hoot, she froze, dropping her handful of weeds. A knot was already beginning to form in her stomach. 

Trying to ignore her sense of foreboding, Selene shaded her eyes with her hand, smearing dirt over her forehead in the process. She squinted through her dirty fingers at the owl. It carried a dead oak leaf in its mouth. The owl’s dark shadow glided ominously over the bright water in the fountain, but by then, Selene was already hurrying into the temple, her handful of weeds forgotten on the white-pebbled path.

She hurried through the wide sanctuary on silent feet, ignoring the handful of the faithful kneeling before the large statue of the Lady, prayer candles glimmering in the creases of her stone robes and in the delicately-carved locks of her hair. Ignoring even the respectful nod of their newest acolyte — a wide-eyed, curly-haired youth who reminded her poignantly of her youngest brother, Jason — Selene slipped into her study and locked the heavy, oak door behind her. With practiced efficiency, she began spreading supplies on her heavy work table: an obsidian bowl, a pitcher of fountain water, a silver knife. 

By the time she had her answer, a black candle, a spool of red thread, a brass teaspoon, and a ragged-edged deck of cards had joined the supplies crowding the table. Evening had long-since fallen; she’d lit the candles in their sconces at least an hour ago. Between the omen of the owl and the useless hours of scrying, the entire day had taken on a surrealistic air. Selene’s body felt aching and wrung-out from too much magic, and her stomach was reminding her just how many hours had passed since her bowl of porridge before dawn. Rising heavily to her feet, she crossed at last to the door, only to find Julianna, Duchess of Ursul, sitting cross-legged on the floor outside it in a meditative pose.

The surprise of her appearance helped Selene to see her as if for the first time, all long limbs, pointed chin, and smooth hair. For just a moment, she saw again the confidant girl leaping from a carriage outside the old cottage in Shepherd’s Point, her men’s trousers and voluminous silk blouse as incongruous beside Selene’s rough, homespun work frock as the glowing crystal her mother had shown her that morning. Then, as now, Selene’s heart skipped a beat at the sight of her. Exhausted from spell work, she couldn’t even muster the composure to tamp down her surprised smile.

Then Selene remembered they’d planned to dine together at sunset, and pleasure turned to dismay. “I’m sorry!” she exclaimed. “You should have knocked.”

Julianna’s eyes fluttered open. “You were casting,” she said, with her usual practicality. “I didn’t want to disturb you.” 

Then she frowned, taking in Selene’s expression, and rose swiftly to her feet with that athletic grace Selene had always envied. Warm fingers curled around Selene’s arm to steady her, and she accepted the support gratefully, shivering a bit at the touch. She hoped Julianna would think her trembling a side effect of the casting, nothing more. 

Julianna glanced behind her at the crowded work table. Her lips pressed into a thin line. “What did you see?”

“An owl in daylight. It carried a dead leaf in its mouth.”

The hiss of indrawn breath showed that Julianna knew exactly what that particular omen meant. “Who will die?”

Selene shook her head. When she spoke, her voice caught in frustration. “I couldn’t tell. The gods are silent.”

They both knew what that meant — another Lumen using magic to shield the future from prying eyes. Julianna’s brows drew together in concern, but she remained practical. “Well, worrying about it now isn’t going to help anything. You’ve already done all you can. Come on. You need to eat.” She kept her firm hold on Selene’s arm, and Selene leaned into her, grateful for the excuse to walk so close. 

She could feel the eyes on them as they crossed the wide stone courtyard to the rooms Julianna kept at the palace. She told herself to breathe deeply, not allowing her embarrassment to show. As a priestess of the second circle, Selene was supposed to be above such mortal cares. The Lady smiled on pleasure shared freely, and several of Her priests and priestesses dallied with each other between the sheets, though they were married to Her in spirit. Yet both the carefully choreographed word-play at court and the easy chatter round the looms at Shepherd’s Point had taught Selene wariness. It was one thing for two priestesses to lie together behind the sheltering walls of the temple. It was quite another to walk arm-in-arm with the duchess of Ursul before the prying eyes of the court. Selene’s priestess’s robes insulated her a bit from petty gossip and prejudice, as Julianna’s title and friendship with the queen did her, yet neither was entirely immune to them. 

Nobles and commoners alike already whispered about Julianna, as much for her bloodline as for her rumored inclination towards women. And only last week, the Holy Mother had warned Selene against showing too much favoritism to a known Lumen. Selene was one of a handful of Lumens trained in secrecy to safeguard Nova from magical threats. Selene’s superiors feared that spending too much time with the kingdom’s only open Lumen aside from Queen Fidelia herself might cast that secrecy into jeopardy. 

For now, though, Selene didn’t care about any of that. She was grateful to have Julianna’s sure strength guiding her across the courtyard, and even more grateful when they slipped into the privacy of Julianna’s rooms. Selene collapsed into a chair while Julianna rang the bell. Moments later, Carole, her maid, wheeled in a tray of covered food. A stew of fresh halibut cooked in a creamy sauce of lemon and saffron. A lightly-dressed salad of sautéed young carrots and peas still in the pod. A loaf of fine, white bread with a crock of salted butter and a tiny dish of caviar that gleamed like black pearls against the white porcelain. A wheel of creamy Sudbury cheese circled by slices of apple and pear. A generous flagon of wine. Famished from the spell work, Selene’s mouth watered at the delicious aromas drifting up from the tray. She folded her hands in her lap, forcing herself not to dive into the food. 

Julianna’s sharp eyes caught the movement, and she shook her head fondly. Reaching for the loaf of bread, she tore a good-sized chunk off, smearing it with butter and handing it to Selene. “What are you standing on formalities for? Eat! You must be starving!”

Selene’s mouth was already watering from the fresh-baked fragrance of the bread. Her hand trembled involuntarily when she lifted it to her mouth. She’d intended to take only a small nibble, but instead she found herself tearing into it, ravenous, her body acting entirely on instinct, trying to replace some of the energy she’d burned in her workshop. 

The maid ladled her soup and poured her wine, studiously not looking at Selene’s crumb-covered mouth and fingers. Blushing, Selene swallowed, thanking her quietly. No matter how long she spent in the capital, she would never get used to being waited on. Back home, at Shepherd's Point, she and the other village girl would have fawned over anyone who lived in a castle and brushed shoulders with royalty, even a maid.

“Thank you, Carole. This looks lovely,” Julianna said, dismissing the maid with a smile. Carole curtsied, slipping from the room. Once the door had safely clicked shut behind her, Julianna spoke quietly. “You overextended yourself tonight.” Her voice was steady, not a hint of reproach, but Selene felt herself blushing in chagrin all the same.

Trying to match Julianna’s matter-of-fact tone, she said, “I’ve seen spells to disguise the future, but never one woven so expertly. It resisted all of my workings.”

“I don’t suppose you got any kind of magical signature?” 

“Nothing at all. I can’t think of who it might be.” There were, Selene knew, a handful of other Lumens who operated in secrecy to protect the kingdom. Unfortunately, most of them kept that secret even from each other. Aside from Julianna, the only open Lumen in the kingdom was . . . Selene hesitated. It bordered on treason to even suggest such a thing. But then again, this was Julianna, her closest friend. 

In a quiet voice, Selene asked, “Do you think Fidelia might have . . .?”

A slight smile quirked Julianna’s lips. “Why, are you accusing your queen of covering up an assassination?” 

“Of course not! She would never—“

“Oh, she would,” Julianna said, laughing. “If she had to. But she didn’t. I played croquet with her this afternoon. If she’d been working spells of that power, I would have sensed it. “

Selene nodded, thoughtfully chewing on a piece of halibut. She couldn’t decide if the news comforted or distressed her. Unlike Julianna, Selene wasn’t in the queen’s inner circle. She only ever glimpsed the public face Fidelia turned to the rest of the kingdom: wise, bold and good. For all that Selene knew, as a priestess, that no mortal could ever be as flawless as that shining vision of good Queen Fidelia, she supposed she found some comfort in the lie, like the rest of the kingdom did. She didn’t like the idea of their smiling, noble queen covering up a murder. Still, it would have been nice to wave the matter away as the queen’s business, too important for the likes of one mere priestess to meddle in. 

“I’ll talk to Fidelia about it in the morning,” Julianna said. “She might have some idea who the other Lumen is. I just wish we could figure out whose death is coming.”

As they ate, they tried to guess who the target might be, without much luck. As a duchess, Julianna naturally knew more about the inner scandals of the court than Selene did. Yet, as she pointed out, the deeper you pried into court intrigue, the more it seemed that everybody was out to kill everybody else. Arisse, the so-called Queen of the East, had earned herself several enemies, as much through her own actions as her unpopular late husband. It would be no surprise if she managed to get herself killed — or if she was the one plotting the murder. But did Arisse, or her enemies, have access to a Lumen? Neither of them could tell. And then there was her son, the Duke of Io. He’d gained a reputation as a hothead, though his fierce swordsmanship and penchant for dueling dissuaded most from calling him out openly for his offenses. 

“There’s also the Duchess of Hellas,” Julianna said thoughtfully. “She didn’t make any friends with that revolution she tried to start in Ixion.” 

Selene hummed in agreement, carefully keeping her face neutral. When the other nobles whispered about Julianna’s private leanings, they usually linked her with the Duchess of Hellas. Selene had only glimpsed the Duchess in passing, but she’d been dismayed at what she’d seen — a beautiful, fiery woman, who’d smiled at Julianna with too much warmth. She’d spied the two of them once, laughing together in the garden, while Fidelia smiled on, indulgently. Selene had no idea if those rumors were true, but it was easy to imagine them together. The Lady knew another Duchess was a far better fit for Julianna than a shepherd’s daughter turned priestess. Julianna’s placid expression hadn’t wavered at all when she’d mentioned the Duchess of Hellas, but with her composure, that hardly meant anything.

“What about her brother?” Selene asked, eager to change the subject. “Does he have any enemies?” 

“Banion? It wouldn’t surprise me. He’s sly, Banion.”

Lingering over cheese and wine, they named half a dozen other potential victims between the two of them. But by the time Selene rose to go back to her room at the temple, they were no closer to uncovering the mystery. 

“I can walk you back,” Julianna offered. 

Warmth spread through Selene, but she regretfully shook her head. “I’m feeling much better now. Thank you.” Impulsively, she stepped forward, catching Julianna in a quick embrace. If she was startled, Julianna didn’t show it. Her arms were warm around Selene’s shoulders, and her eyes fond when she pulled back to look at her.

“Don’t worry,” Julianna said. “I’ll talk to Fidelia in the morning. We’ll figure this out.”

But as it turned out, she never got the chance.

* * *

The funeral bells were still ringing when Selene made her way through the crowds of mourners filling the palace to Julianna’s rooms. She hesitated a moment outside Julianna’s door. The Duchess of Hellas had come to the capital for the queen’s funeral, of course, as had all of the other nobles scattered across the kingdom. If she were with Julianna, Selene didn’t want to know, let alone interrupt. But remembering how tears had streaked Julianna’s usually-stoic face at the funeral, Selene hardened her resolve and knocked.

A moment later, the door opened. Julianna herself, not the maid, stood in the doorway. She blinked at Selene, eyes wet with tears. 

“I’m sorry to intrude,” Selene said. “But —”

Before she could finish, Julianna was rushing forward, seizing Selene in a fierce embrace. “Thank you for coming,” she whispered, pressing her damp face into Selene’s neck. All of Nova was mourning its queen, Selene knew, but Julianna was mourning her friend. She held her close.

“I’m so sorry,” she murmured into Julianna’s soft hair. “I still can’t believe she’s gone.” 

Julianna shuddered in Selene’s arms. “That’s not even the worst of it.”

“What do you mean?” Selene asked, a tiny sliver of dread piercing through her. What could possibly be worse than losing the queen? Fidelia had been young still, vibrant, beloved by commoners and nobles alike. At fourteen, Crown Princess Elodie, was still mostly a child, and a sheltered one, from all that Selene had heard. It was almost impossible to imagine her stepping into her mother’s shoes. The whole kingdom was holding its breath now, wondering what was going to happen. 

Julianna pulled back, taking a ragged breath. Selene’s eyes fluttered open, and she frowned, realizing, for the first time, that the familiar sitting room had been cleared of Julianna’s possessions. Her sword no longer hung on the wall, and her books had all been cleared from the case. Behind her stood a large trunk, packed full. 

“Joslyn,” Juliana choked. “The King Dowager. He blames me for it.”

* * *

They sat close together on the sofa, Julianna’s head resting on Selene’s shoulder. Selene had an arm around her, tight and protective. It was foolish, perhaps, to think of protecting anyone as fierce and brave as Julianna, but Selene could try.

“There’s no proof of course,” Julianna was saying. “How can there be? I haven’t done anything!” Her voice had grown stronger, but it still trembled as she added, “I’d never have hurt Fidelia!”

“I know,” Selene assured her. 

Julianna drew in a shuddering breath. “He’s told me to leave the island by nightfall. He says he’ll have me arrested if he sees me again.” She drew in a shuddering breath, running a hand through her hair. “Fidelia always wanted me to help Elodie master her powers, like I taught both of you. But Joslyn doesn’t want his daughter having anything to do with magic now. I don’t even know what he’s done with Fidelia’s crystal!” 

“We can find it,” Selene soothed. 

Julianna nodded shakily. “You’re right. Of course you’re right.” She pulled away a bit, scrubbing at her eyes. “Forgive me. You know I’m not normally so emotional. I didn’t even carry on this much when my father died!”

Selene caught her hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. “Your father was an old man. You expected his death. You had time to come to terms with it. But Queen Fidelia . . .” Selene trailed off, remembering the last time she’d seen the queen, smiling up at her over the chalice during last month’s full moon ceremony. At 33, she'd only been a few years older than Selene. 

“I keep wondering if we could have prevented it,” Julianna admitted in a small voice. “Maybe if I’d talked to her that night, instead of putting it off for morning, she’d still be alive.”

Selene closed her eyes for a moment. She’d had the same thoughts. Still . . . “Don’t blame yourself,” she said, trying to keep her voice firm and reassuring. “Whoever placed that concealing spell was a master Lumen. If I couldn’t break it, nobody could.” She pressed her forehead to Julianna’s, squeezing her hand. “That omen could have foretold any death. We never even guessed it could be Fidelia’s. How could we have?”

Julianna looked up at Selene with grateful eyes, and Selene met her gaze squarely, trying to convey how much she’d meant her words. Her thumb strayed absently over the back of Julianna’s hand, and Julianna’s eyes darkened, softening like a storm at sea. Selene swallowed. She’d always Julianna’s eyes, paler than her hair, more green than blue. Wet with tears, they reminded Selene more than ever of the bright Okeanos off the shore of Shepherd’s Point. Her dark lashes spiked together like starfish. Lifting a hand to Julianna’s cheek, Selene gently wiped away the moisture there. Julianna’s eyes fell shut. Her hand squeezed Selene’s, tight. Then she was turning her face in Selene’s hand, pressing a kiss to the center of her palm.

Selene couldn’t help the small gasp that escaped her. Julianna shifted her grip on Selene’s hand, lacing their fingers together in her lap, even as her hot tongue darted out to lick the salt of her own tears from Selene’s skin. Selene ran her fingers over Julianna’s lips, over the sharp curve of her cheekbone, around her pearl-studded earlobe and into the short, fine locks of her hair as Julianna surged upwards, bringing their mouths together.

The kiss was hot. Salty from tears. Julianna’s tongue traced the seam of Selene’s lips, and Selene opened for her, helpless to deny her anything in that moment. Their tongues slid together, lush and perfect. Julianna’s fingers gripped her hair, angling her head to a better position. They slid down to the couch together, passing those wet, desperate kisses between their mouths, like breathing. 

Releasing her fingers, Julianna’s hand dived up the wide sleeve of Selene’s priestess robe, stroking her bare arm, the skin of her back, the lines of her collarbone. They left trails of heat in their wake, and Selene moaned into the kiss, clutching frantically at Julianna’s shoulders. But when that sword-callused palm cupped over Selene’s breast, thumb stroking tantalizingly over her nipple, Selene forced herself to break the kiss. She lifted a hand to her cover Julianna’s, stilling her exploring fingers, even as she trapped her hand beneath the thick wool of her priestess’s robes.

“Are you sure?” she asked. “You’re grieving. You’ve just had a terrible shock. You’ve—“

“I’ve wanted you for _years_ ,” Julianna interrupted, thumbing pointedly over Selene’s nipple. “Since we were girls.” Then she hesitated, starting to pull away. “But if you don’t want —”

Without giving her a chance to finish, Selene leaned in, kissing her hard and deep. She released Julianna’s hand to stroke and knead the sensitive skin of her breast, brought her own to the hem of Julianna’s blouse, reaching up inside to feel the hot, perfect skin of your back. “I’ve wanted you too,” she admitted, when they finally pulled apart to breathe. “Since I met you, I think.”

Julianna gave a rueful laugh, dropping her forehead to Selene’s shoulder. “And I’m leaving tonight! By the Lady, we’ve both been idiots!”

“This was happening when it was meant to,” Selene said.

“Don’t give me that divine nonsense,” Julianna said fondly, pressing her palm over Selene’s heart, where her Lumen crystal flickered, unseen, beneath the surface of her skin. Frowning, Juliana lifted her other hand, tugging at the sash embroidered with the Lady’s three-fold knot. “And get out of these robes! I want to see you.” 

With a breathless laugh, Selene helped Julianna to undress her, slipping out of the heavy robes. Naked, she tilted her head for another kiss, and obliged her, running her hand over Selene’s back, her buttocks, the curve of her hip. She pressed Selene back against the sofa cushions, kissing down the line of her throat. Selene tried to rise, to reach for Julianna’s clothing in turn, but strong fingers caught hers, pressing them over her head. 

“Please,” Julianna whispered between the hollow of her breasts, the heat of her breath sending a shiver down Selene’s spine. “Give me this.”

“Oh, gods, _yes,_ ” Selene groaned, as Julianna’s mouth closed over her nipple, hot and perfect. She relinquished herself to Julianna’s mouth and hands, letting her find whatever comfort she could from her body. Julianna’s palms slid down her stomach and over the mound of her pubis, pausing teasingly over the damped curls there before continuing down. Strong, sure fingers pressed against Selene’s inner thighs, urging them wider apart. Selene let her legs fall open, fingers carding frantically through Julianna’s hair as she kissed down the curve of her stomach, bringing a hand up to cup Selene’s sex. 

“You’re beautiful,” Julianna breathed, slipping her whole palm through Selene’s dampness, pressing hard against her clit, before delving one finger inside. “Gods, I’ve wanted you for so long!”

Selene gasped, rolling her hips to meet that finger even as Julianna’s hot breath gusted over the slick, sensitive skin of her sex. She bent her head to kiss Selene there, and there was something almost reverent in the press of her lips, the flicker of her tongue, the press of her free hand to Selene’s hip. For Selene, so adept at worshipping, it was an entirely new experience to simply lie back and ride the waves of pleasure as they rocked her body. She came with Julianna’s tongue lapping at her, Julianna’s fingers pressed deep inside her. Selene cried out from the force of it, shaking and shuddering as the tide of pleasure swept through her. 

Julianna breathed a triumphant, breathy laugh against her skin, even as she dived her head in again, pressing another finger into Selene, where she was hot, and wet, and shuddering. Julianna’s tongue sucked hot around her clitoris. Her fingers crooked inside Selene, pressing strong and confident against that deep pleasure center inside her. Selene’s eyes squeezed shut, moisture leaking from the corners of her lashes as another orgasm broke through her. Light flared behind her closed eyes as she cried out, and it didn’t fade, even as she collapsed back against the cushions, quaking with the aftershocks.

“Gods,” Julianna groaned, and Selene opened her eyes, realizing that the flare of light hadn’t been in her mind at all. The room had grown brighter, lit by a deep aquamarine glow of her Lumen crystal, exposed and flickering on her chest, like sunlight flashing over the choppy waves of the sea. She could see an answering glow beneath the thin silk of Julianna’s blouse. Julianna had frozen between Selene’s thighs, one hand buried deep inside her unfastened trousers. She was staring at Selene’s crystal, eyes wide and awestruck.

“I’ve heard it can happen when two Lumens lie together,” Julianna breathed. “But I’ve never —”

“Me neither.” Tired of lying passive, Selene reached for Juliana, tugging at the waistband of her trousers. Grinning, Julianna wriggled out of them enthusiastically. At Selene’s urging, she crawled up her body, straddling Selene’s face. Fervently, Selene licked up into the hot, salty center of her, loving the way Julianna’s thighs tightened on either side of her head. 

From the moisture, and the way Juliana shuddered above her, over-sensitive, Selene guessed that she’d come once already. With this realization, she eased the movements of her lips and tongue, making it soft and wet, a gentle lapping that soon had Julianna rocking against her, moaning deep in her throat. Selene slipped her hands up Julianna’s hips, smoothing over her silk-covered flank to tug blindly on the pearl buttons of her blouse. Julianna’s fingers came up to help her, and soon the blouse was drifting to the ground with a whisper of silk. Without stilling the motion of her mouth, Selene found her full breasts, cupped them, testing their weight. 

“Yes,” Julianna groaned, bucking hard against her. “Oh, yes!”

Selene had thought the silk soft beneath her fingers, but that was nothing compared to feel of Julianna’s delicate skin. She squeezed her breasts, kneaded them, pinched her nipples between her thumb and forefinger while Julianna sobbed in pleasure, grinding down into Selene’s mouth. Finally, unable to suppress her curiosity, she delved her thumbs down the valley between those full breasts, letting them ghost over the pulsing Lumen crystal. 

It felt like dipping into the divine energy of the universe. Like the moment she’d accepted her own Lumen crystal, her whole soul expanding crystalline and brilliant. Light flared in her own chest, pulsing through her body, out her fingertips and toes, and Selene cried out with the pleasure of it, even as Julianna collapsed above her, shaking and twitching as she rolled off Selene. 

 

 

“I’ll go back to Ursul with you,” Selene murmured later, as Julianna lifted her head from her chest to peer at the deepening light out the window. 

Julianna squeezed her bare shoulder, gratefully, but her voice was regretful. “You can’t. Somebody needs to stay here and guide Princess Elodie.” She sat up, reaching for her trousers where they’d fallen. “I’ll come back once she’s settled. Joslyn is only the dowager king. He can’t send me away without her consent.” She kissed the top of Selene’s head. “It will only be a few weeks.”

* * *

But a few weeks felt longer than a year.

Selene dreamed every night during her absence. Some were happy dreams. She and Julianna stood together, palm to palm, their hands bound together by green ribbons, while Princess — no, _Queen_ — Elodie spoke a blessing over their bowed heads. She saw them writhing together on satin sheets. Walking arm-in-arm on a balcony overlooking the sea, while a green-haired girl bounced along beside them, chattering happily. 

But in other dreams, Julianna huddled in the dungeon, cold and miserable, while Selene clutched her hand through the iron bars, promising to get her out. In some, Selene stood alone on the prow of a ship, chanting resolutely as a kraken burst through the waves, its huge tentacles reaching for the mast. 

And some were worse. Far worse. 

All of them felt true. 

Selene reminded herself, again and again, that dreams were the least precise form of divination, too easily warped by thoughts and desires, rather than true vision. It didn’t ease her anxiety. Time and again, she stared into her scrying bowl, only to see a thousand futures coalescing and dissolving together with every breath. She’d read of cases like this, when the future hung so carefully in the balance that a single decision could rapidly change it. All she could tell for certain was that trouble was coming, possibly from any direction.

It almost felt like she was still dreaming when she heard a commotion outside the temple. 

Selene burst through the temple door in time to see a carriage emblazoned with the arms of Ursul, a defiant hand holding a torch alight. The carriage pulled to a stop before the palace, and a footman hurried to open the door. Without waiting for him to extend a hand up to her, Julianna leapt free of the carriage, landing light on her feet on the cobblestones. Selene’s heart caught in her throat. 

Julianna’s fine hair ruffled in the breeze around her chin. Pearls adorned her earlobes and throat, and lace decorated the collar of her silk blouse, but she still wore men’s trousers, albeit of the finest quality. Her sharp gaze scanned the crowd, and for just a moment, her gaze locked with Selene’s.

The lumen crystal between Selene’s breasts flared with the heat of Julianna’s gaze, hot enough that she pressed a hand to her chest lest a hint of the glow be seen through her robes. But Julianna’s determined expression didn’t flicker in the slightest. A second later, her gaze had swept from Selene, landing instead on Joslyn, who waited now on the palace steps with a grim-faced expression. Striding towards him, Julianna passed Selene without a second glance. 

Logically, Selene knew it would be stupid for Julianna to single her out, draw Joslyn’s suspicions to her, as well. But it stung just the same.

Selene hesitated a moment at the door of the temple before hurrying forward, just another onlooker in the growing crowd. They all watched as Julianna strode toward the palace gates, ignoring the scandalized whispers and dark glances thrown her way. Even as Julianna neared the steps, the heavy doors to the palace swung open from the inside. Princess Elodie spilled out of the palace with all of Queen Fidelia’s curiosity and none of her practiced grace. She stared wide-eyed out at the crowd, her gaze finally falling on Julianna in confusion. Princess Elodie clearly didn’t recognize her. Selene supposed the princess would have been at boarding school all those long hours when Fidelia and Julianna strolled the gardens together. Over the scandalized whisper of the crowd, Selene could barely hear the princess demanding her father to explain what was happening.

Forthright as always, Julianna didn’t give Joslyn a chance to reply. Stepping forward, she addressed, not Joslyn, but Princess Elodie. 

“I have come to pay my respects in honor of your mother.”

Joslyn glared down at her. “You have no respect or honor. It’s because of you and your powers that my wife is dead!” 

“What?!” Princess Elodie exclaimed, sounding just as confused as the crowd.

Selene’s hands were shaking. She clutched at her skirt to stop them, heart pounding with nervousness as Julianna explained herself to Princess Elodie. 

But, again, it was Joslyn who spoke. “Your line has been traitors for two hundred years. I won’t have you corrupting my daughter.”

Composed as always, Julianna didn’t even blink at the insult. “That is for the crown princess to decide. Elodie, your mother trusted me, and I have much to teach you.” 

Elodie stood frozen on the steps in indecision. She glanced from Joslyn’s thunderous expression to Julianna’s implacable face, and Selene — so skilled at reading the future — realized in that moment that she had no idea how the princess would react. Would she side with her father, sending Julianna away, or even worse? Or would the mention of Fidelia’s friendship with Julianna be enough to sway her? 

Determination settling over her features, Elodie lifted her chin, taking a tentative step forward. The crowd hushed in anticipation as the princess opened her mouth to speak.

**The Beginning.**


End file.
